It is about time Ghana's diplomatic missions in the West started being a little more creative, in their representation of the Ghanaian nation-state - and the pursuance of our nation's vital interests: in their overseas postings.
To that end, they must prioritise the cultivation of left-of-centre politicians in the wealthy developed nations to which they are accredited - who, most probably might be predisposed to being sympathetic to stable and democratic developing world nations, such as our homeland Ghana.
l am pretty sure that Ghana's current rulers might have secured more positive outcomes, in both cases, had the support of the Congressional Black Caucus, and the liberals amongst Democratic members of the US Congress, as well as that of left-of-centre UK parliamentarians been elicited, for example, in our challenges to do with Vodafone's takeover of Ghana Telecom (GT), and Kosmos Oil's infernal cheek (in amongst its many sins against Nkrumah's Ghana, exploiting loopholes in the law - at just around the time the US administration was playing hard-ball with BP for the disastrous Gulf of Mexico oil spillage - to avoid paying a fine in Ghana, imposed on it, for dumping toxic material into the Atlantic Ocean, some of which subsequently washed up ashore and contaminated a stretch of beaches, along Ghana's coastline!).
The assistance of overseas legislators and other politicians, can help us fight and win disputes with local subsidiaries of multinational companies with domicile in those nations, operating here - when they try to seek unfair advantage over our homeland Ghana.
If our mission in London had cultivated left-of-centre members of the UK Parliament, for example, surely, they would have made a difference in our quest to right the wrongs of the Kufuor-led takeover of GT by Vodafone?
And would that not have prevented the annoying situation we are faced with today, in which to add insult to injury, because Ghana ceded as much as 70 percent of GT, we are forced to put up with the arrogance and outrageous profligacy of Vodafone Ghana's UK executives - who, as we speak, are living the life of Riley at our nation's expense, at a time of austerity in both Ghana and the UK, and when even Arab oil Sheiks are reining in their spending: because they've cottoned on to the unpalatable fact that excess is foolish, in a period of economic uncertainty, such as the world faces today?
With the help of left-of-centre UK parliamentarians, that Kufuor-era rip-off of Mother Ghana, might have been dealt with effectively by now: since we have right and the law on our side. The takeover of GT was clearly in contravention of section 2 of the Divestiture of State Interest Act (DSIA) - and any laws passed to indemnify those who cooked up that massive fraud from prosecution, clearly contravene the constitutional edict that calls on all Ghanaians to prevent and fight corruption wherever it occurs: and therefore cannot possibly be allowed to stand.
If they had been briefed by officials from the Ghana High Commission, perhaps by now, outraged Left-wing members of the UK Parliament, might have succeeded in getting the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO), to investigate and prosecute all those Ghanaian and British citizens, who in deliberately ignoring Section 2 of Ghana's Divestiture of State Interest Act (DSIA), are responsible for that gargantuan fraud, known as the sale and purchase agreement for a more or less non-existent entity cleverly christened the "Enlarged Ghana Telecom (GT) Group", to outwit ordinary Ghanaians - by the greediest of the rogues, amongst the largely-corrupt New Patriotic Party (NPP) regime of President Kufuor. Hmm, Ghana - eyeasem oo: asem kesie ebeba debi ankasa!
And so, dear reader, because the geniuses who now rule us, did not think of striking an alliance with suitably sympathetic members of the UK Parliament when they first came to power (and were dragged to London to be pressurised by Prime Minister Gordon Brown - on an apprehensive Vodafone UK's behalf!), sadly for Ghanaian nationalists and patriots, Nkrumah's Ghana is now saddled with that daft process and outcome, ridiculously labelled "re-engagement" to save face for leading members of a political party, who gave Ghanaians the false impression that they would abrogate the GT takeover deal, if they formed the next government - when they were campaigning for votes to come to power in 2008: and were busy making what have turned out to be empty promise upon empty promise.
And so today, we have the unedifying situation, in which Ghana's young brilliant communications minister, the Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, has virtually been captured and taken 'prisoner' by the pro-NPP and pro-Vodafone top-level civil servants in his ministry.
Incidentally, those typical New Patriotic Party (NPP) quisling-types and stooges for neo-colonialism, were so obliging that when the silver-tongued Kofuor & Co. were in the final stages of handing over GT on a silver platter to Vodafone, they actually waived that company's payment of a G3 licence - telling its UK executives it was included in the paltry US$900 millions, which that company paid for a business worth at least some US$5 billions, in today's values. Imagine that. Unbelievable, is it not, dear reader?
They are just the sort of pro-NPP top public officials who pepper our nation's ministries, departments and state agencies, through whom the perfidious Kufuor & Co., still exert such invidious influence in Ghana: by remote control.
How incredibly stupid Vodafone's UK executives must have thought Ghanaians were, when told so - and actually allowed to get away with not paying for the 3G licence, too. There is nowhere else in the world that such an unheard of concession, to a wealthy multinational telecoms company, would have been made by public officials off their own bat. Just what precisely influenced that pure nonsense on bamboo stilts, one wonders?
Perhaps the NDC regime of President Mills, ought to find out how India's tax authorities, for example, are dealing with Vodafone, as we speak - and take a leaf from their book of nationalism: and learn a few useful lessons in how to protect Ghana's national interest in such situations too, when dealing with the Vodafones of this world.
And whiles they are at it, perhaps they can also learn a few useful lessons about how to deal with oil companies, by studying aspects of Uganda's dealings with oil companies operating on its territory (including even one as decent, honest and fair-minded as Tullow Oil!).
Finally, one certainly hopes that if David Cameron & Co., are really sincere individuals, who rather than allow the UK Anti-Bribery Act 2010 to be shelved, will, as the initiators of the moral Big Society, allow it to come into effect this April, 2011 - to keep Corporate UK on the straight and narrow, when operating abroad: particularly in Africa!
If that were to happen, it will enable the good people of Ghana to get justice in the British law courts, for that egregious example of the rip off of a poor developing nation, by British-big-money, and its local lackeys (those infernal quislings!) amongst our ruling elites.
The High Commissioner of Ghana to the UK ought to try and get Left-wing members of the UK Parliament to press the Coalition government to allow the Anti-Bribery Act to come into force as planned. Perhaps the world will then see some evidence that in David Cameron's moral Big Society, morality actually underpins the actions of Britain's leaders - and is not just humbug cloaked in platitudinous phraseology, and designed to frame a vote-winning narrative, dreamt up by ever-so-clever spin-doctors working in 10 Downing Street. That would be a perfect example, of creative and proactive diplomacy to promote our nation's interests, by Ghanaian diplomats posted to one of the wealthy nations of the Western world. One hopes Ghana's High Commissioner to the UK, will take due note. A word to the wise...
Tel (powered by Tigo - the one mobile phone network in Ghana that actually works!): + 233 (0) 27 745 3109.
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